How Will the U.S. Handle Environmental Refugees?

The swell of Haitian migrants attempting to come to the U.S. shows the country needs a plan to help environmental refugees, advocates say, while warning that the swift deportation of those camped in Texas is indicative of how climate migrants could be treated in the years to come, reports The Hill. Alex de Sherbinin, a scientist with Columbia University who’s focused on the human aspects of environmental change, called climate change a compounding factor with other migration pressures.

The U.S. can offer temporary protected status (TPS) to foreigners already in the U.S., allowing them to maintain their residency if their home country is struck by a natural disaster or political unrest. This was their response in August 2021, when it allowed Haitian migrants to flee political unrest, violence, and human rights abuses sparked by the assassination of their president. But the Department of Homeland Security did not extend the TPS designation to those who were in the U.S. following the earthquake that struck just two weeks later. In July, a task force with the advocacy group Refugees International released a report recommending a range of policies to address climate migration, including establishing protections similar to asylum or refugee programs for those impacted by climate change and natural disasters. Separately, a group that included advocates from Harvard and Yale called for creating climate displacement visas and considering the addition of climate displacement to the asylum system.